OREM, Utah--In a battle for second place in the Western Athletic Conference, Bakersfield (18-11, 10-4 WAC) rallied from 14-12 down in the fifth set to defeat Utah Valley 16-14 and earn a 3-2 match victory over the Wolverines (18-13, 11-4 WAC).

The Wolverines defeated the Roadrunners 25-9 in the first set. Bakersfield rallied from 23-22 down in the second set to defeat Utah Valley 25-23 to even the match at one. The Wolverines earned a 25-19 victory in set three. CSUB sent the match to a fifth set by taking set four by a score of 25-20.

The Roadrunners opened the fifth set on a 4-1 run before the Wolverines called a timeout. UVU scored four of the next five points to tie the match. Bakersfield called a timeout, but UVU sprinted out to the next two points. The 'Runners rallied, scoring the next two for a 7-7 match. Julia Bowen (Sr., Ottawa, Ontario, Wilfred Lauer Univ.) and Sara Little (So., Bakersfield, Calif., Bakersfield HS) blocked Lauren Stringham's attack attempt to give Bakersfield a 8-7 advantage. Bowen and Debora Araujo (Sr., Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Western Nebraska C.C.) blocked Kalani Norris on the ensuing UVU set for a two-point CSUB lead.

Utah Valley scored to make it 9-8 but a Little kill gave CSUB a two-point lead once again. At 10-9 in favor for the 'Runners, Shayna Guitare (Sr., Torrance, Calif., Pierce College) made a kill for a 11-9 lead, but a Guitare hitting error closed the gap to one. UVU tied the score at 11 when Bakersfield committed an unforced error.

Molly O'Hagan (Jr, Tonganoxie, Kan., Tonganoxie HS) ) returned the lead to CSUB with her 10th kill of the evening, but UVU tied it again when Nakisha Wilden tallied a kill. The Wolverines took the lead  when Stringham recorded a kill. Stringham blocked the next CSUB attack to set up a match point at 14-12, but O'Hagan earned a kill to stave off UVU. Little tied the match at 14 with a kill. Little's second kill in a row gave Bakersfield a match point at 15-14. The 'Runners put it away when O'Hagan and Fernanda Gonçalves (Sr., Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Western Nebraska C.C.) blocked Stringham on the match's final offensive attempt.

Araujo led the 'Runners with 16 kills. Guitare had 12 kills while Bowen tied her career high with nine kills. O'Hagan posted 11 kills and eight blocks. Little added seven kills.  Gonçalves recorded her league leading 13th double-double of the year as she posted 50 assists and 12 digs. She also added four blocks.

"Tonight was an exciting battle," said Bakersfield head coach Jolene Shepardson. "UVU came out ready for us, but our team stayed steady and competed for every point. I am proud of our players tonight. They trusted themselves and each other. It was a great team effort."

The Roadrunners travel to Grand Canyon on Monday for a 7 p.m. (MST) start. If Bakersfield can win its remaining two matches (at Grand Canyon and Texas-Pan American), the 'Runners would earn the second seed (even if ending up in a tie with Utah Valley as CSUB holds the tiebreaker, head-to-head advantage) and a first round bye at the Nov. 25-27 WAC Tournament at Grand Canyon.

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